Echoes in the Dark
by TrinityValhalla
Summary: When the future is nothing but shambles, it is up to a squad of specially talented ladies to return to the past and change their dismal lives. Can they really change the course of history, or will they fall victim to the wills of fate? Just how much can they really change? A cast of O.C.'s and some assumptions on the author's part. RatedT for language and that's about it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello, dearest reader. This is a story that has been replaying itself again and again in my mind. So I figured it'd be best to let it out. I'm possible thinking of coupling the o.c.'s with some characters, but I'm not to sure just yet. If any of you have suggestion or comments on how this thing should go down, please feel free to leave a review or pm me. And as always, thank you for reading. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Just the ones that talk in this first chapter.**

Their steps were heavy as they ran, their breath catching in their throats. In the old, crumbling underground tunnels that they ran through, light was scarce and the dense air was full of dust and other such debris. They were old subway tunnels, actually. But time and war left them in disuse, electricity no longer a practical thing any longer. They only use the tunnels served anymore was as foot paths, out of the sight of the above-grounders, the Servants of the Moon. There weren't many left that could resist the genjustu - the one that was the beginning of the end. It was a small group of rag-tag ninja with a will stronger than steel, stronger than any metal, even diamond.

They were the only survivors of the Fourth Great Ninja War, still referring to themselves as the Allied Shinobi Force. After the Hero of Konohagakure and the Nine-Tails' Jinjuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, was defeated in battle by the Bane of Humanity, Uchiha Sasuke, everything went spiraling down. With their ace in the hole gone and defeated, it wasn't too long after that the Eight-Tails' Jinjuriki, Killer Bee of Kumogakure, fell. With all Tailed Beasts captured, the mastermind of it all, Uchiha Madara's Eye of the Moon plan was set into action. First, the five Kage were decimated, then each of their perspective villages destroyed, and all of humanity was enslaved in Madara's Eternal Sharingan.

But during that time, those strong enough to resist the genjustu have harbored the will of humanity and became stronger with the determination to save them. Where only the Kekkei Touta, the mixing of three chakras, was the minimum standard for acceptance into the main force, those below this standard were kept safe in the back line as a means of support and final defense. The Elite Squad possessed the Kekkie Kansei, the mixing of five charkras, and were sprinkled about the Allied Shinobi Force where needed. Only three of them where ever found, one of them already killed in battle. There was also the Kekkei Dodai that were the support for the Elite Squad. They were by far more common, but not nearly so much so as the Genkai or Touta.

"Commander Tsumiko! Enemy ninja at the two o'clock, sixteen meters ahead. Eight of them," said the blind ninja beside her.

"Alright, ladies. We have a short window of time to get to the rendezvous point. The future ...and the past... of humanity depends on us and if Yuurei can get the machine up and running in time. Ayame, stall them while Sen and I prepare the jutsu. Let's teach these guys a lesson in the meaning of 'girl power'," Tsumiko said with a smirk on her face.

"Hai!" said the blind girl as she skidded to a stop and turned around. Weaving hand signs as fast as lighting, she took a deep breath and exhaled a deafening sound that reverberated down the tunnel.

"Sure she'll be okay on her own, Commander?" Sen turned a cocky look to the silver-haired woman beside her.

"If she couldn't handle herself on her own, the she'd already be dead," she replied bluntly, focused on the task at hand.

"True, true."

A woman tinkering on a machine in front of her look up at the sound if their quiet footsteps touching ground. "Took you long enough..." she said as she stood, dusting the dirt from her hands.

"We ran into some... trouble on the way here," Tsumiko smiled at her. "Sorry, Rei-chan."

Red eyes glared back at her, "Fuck you."

"Now, now. Harsh words will get us no where. Anyways. Is it ready yet?" she asked, walking up to the contraption and tapping on it with her foot.

"Yeah. What the hell is it gonna do, anyways?" Yuurei glanced at Tsumiko through raven black hair.

"Well... let's just say that you're going to have the chance to kick your long dead ancestor's ass for making your life a living hell," Tsumiko stared at the contraption with a pensive stare. Yuurei looked at her, dumbfounded.

"You're going to exploit the Kansei, aren't you?" Sen grabbed Tsumiko by the shoulder and forced her to look her in the eye. "Chief, you can't be serious!? Doing something like that is unheard of! You can't-"

"You're right. I can't, or at least, not all by myself. That's why I need the three of you to come with me and strengthen the jutsu. That and I wouldn't dream of saving the past without you."

"I'm coming, too," a voice echoed down the tunnel. From the shadows, a young man came walking toward them with Ayame in tow. Black rings round his eyes and a mess of red hair on top his head was a dead giveaway as to his identity.

"Oh, Toma-kun. I'm sorry, but there's just not enough energy for any more people," Tsumiko stood before him and stroked the red kanji above his left eye, a reminder to all of how Life if valuable. She looked around. "Hm? Where's Mato?"

At the sound of his twin brother's name, Toma clenched his fists. "He insisted that we come here to see you off. On the way, we were attacked by an above-grounder commando unit. The same one that was chasing you."

"I'm so sorry, Toma-kun," she embraced him. Mato was always saying how Death was inescapable, thus the Black Kanji above his right eye, but he always tried to live his life to the fullest until that day came.

"I don't care what I have to do, I'm coming with you," his voice was dead serious as he held Tsumiko at arm's length. He searched her eyes for any hope that she would cave in and agree.

She back up and turned to address the group. "Alright. I don't know if your Touta will be enough, so I'll supply you with what you lack."

"Are you kidding, Chief? We don't even know if _we'll_ make it, so how can you guarantee his safety, too?" Sen flailed her arms above her head.

Tsumiko bluntly turned to her, closed her eyes and held up her hand, said, "We'll just have to make due," and turned back to look at the man before her.

"Have a little faith in Commander Tsumiko, hm?" Ayame looked in Sen's direction with a blank smile.

She puffed, crossed her arms and turned away. "Fine," she mumbled.

"And explain to me how you're going to warp five people, intact, through time?" Yuurei was leaning against the machine with her arms crossed.

Tsumiko smiled, and pulled from the kunai pouch on her thigh a scroll. "With this," she said, a glimmer in her eye. "I had the old man start putting it together a long time ago. It contains some pretty powerful stuff. I guess he's been working on it pretty seriously, storing chakra in it 'n stuff. He said that he had hopes that we'd be able to change the past, and thus, the future."

"Ok. That still doesn't explain anything."

"Basically, it's a forbidden jutsu that was long forgotten and and recovered a couple decades ago that allows the user to jump through time and it just so helps that this is my cup of tea. SO. If everything is all said and done, let us be on our way. Hope you ladies haven't forgotten anything, cuz it's most likely not going to be here when we get back."

"If we get back," Yuurei muttered, pushing off the machine. "Oh, and how is this piece of sh-"

"It's going to help generate the chakra we need."

"Damn. Just how much juice do we need to get this thing going?" Sen gawked.

"Let's just say it's better to be safe than sorry."

"And we better hurry, least we be sorry," Ayame had her head cocked to the side, listening. "There's a small militia, but enough to stall us for a couple hours, hm."

"Damn," Tsumiko cursed to herself, looking around for a quick moment. "Alright, I'll make this quick," she said as she began laying out the scroll with Toma's help. "Because this is going to be a rush job, there's no guaranteeing that we'll all end up in the same place at the same time. I'll focus on getting us all in the same general time, but I won't make any promises. And since I can't bring us all to this same spot, being that the tunnels didn't exist in the time we're going to, I have to bring us above-ground. So bare with me and gather 'round."

She flipped the switch on the machine as they did so, turning it on and knelt beside the scroll. Biting her thumb, she smeared the blood on the canvas, activating the jutsu.

"Hold on tight," Tsumiko said as their surroundings started swirling around them.

It was a crushing feeling, like being squeezed in the palm of a giant. The loud screech in their ears was most deafening, and everything was a blurred mess of colors and twisted, abstract felt like an eternity was really only a minute or so, and Tsumiko found herself in the midst of trees and greenery.

"Where the hell am I?" she wondered to herself, dazzled by what she saw.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here's the second chapter to this thing. Sorry it's a little choppy, but I felt as though it was necessary. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I do writing it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its' characters.**

"Where the hell is this?" Sen spun around, looking at the high stone boulders and the blue sky above. "Well I'll be damned," she said, crossing her arms. "Chief actually did it..."

Looking down beneath her feet, there was green. She had to think about it for a moment before she realized that it was grass. Never had Sen seen it in person before. Taking a moment to let this settle in, she then set off on her way to the nearest village to see if she could regroup with the others.

There was rolling hills, and even more boulders. Or where they just stone mounds? Either way, they were everywhere. Sen wasn't very good with history, or memorizing, for that matter, so she had to think it out to herself.

"Not Suna, cuz there's no sand," she said as she continued to walk on a path she had found. "Not Konoha, cuz there's no trees. And Kiri is supposed to be a bunch of islands, but I don't see any water... So that leaves... Iwa and... Kumo? Hm... Imma gonna go with Kumo, cuz of all the clouds."

She nodded as she looked up at the clouds. She noted how they looked like paintings that where just drifting on by. After a while, she came upon a squad and without a second thought, ran over to question them if her theory was right.

* * *

Ayame fell to her knees. The rush that overcame her during the jutsu sent her sensitive senses through the roof and almost tossed her into sensory overload. In her ears, the sound of water gave way to the smell of salt. Reaching out to better understand her surroundings, Ayame sensed an unfamiliar chakra to her left, and she snapped her head to look in that direction.

She struggled to stand on wobbly feet. "Wh-who's there," she called out, reaching for a kunai in the pouch on her thigh, just under the slit in her dress.

"Easy does it, miss. I'm just doing a routine round. Might I ask who you are?" said a man's voice, maybe around mid to late thirties.

She held the kunai firm in her hand, blindly pointing it in the direction of the voice. "M-My name's Ayame. Who are you, hmm?"

"My name's [insert lowly unknown ninja name here]. This area's off-limits though, so what are you doing here," his voice was caring, but stern.

She paused for a moment, considering her explanation. "I got separated from my friends. You see, I'm blind, so it tends to happen a lot..." she said, waving a hand in front of her face. She openly exploited her disability when an advantage was possible, this being one of those situations. "Would you be able to help me, perhaps, to find them, hmm?"

"Um, s-sure," Ayame could feel his pulse quicken through the air, a keen sense she was well renown for. She assumed at that point that there was a blush on his face.

She smiled brightly, "Thank you very much."

* * *

Yuurei held a hand above her eyes, trying to block out the light of the sun as she squinted into the distance. The sands of the desert seemed to go on and on. It felt as though she'd be walking forever, at that rate. She would have been much happier back in her own time than in the sweltering heat of the desert's sun.

"When I find you, Tsumiko," she whispered out loud. "I will personally tear you limb from limb."

She continued rambling to herself, mostly just empty threats to Tsumiko. Heat was not something Yuurei was used to, and she wasn't about to start anytime soon. And on she went, complaining, cursing, bickering, until she felt like she was going to drop. But even then, she didn't stop, holding herself up tall as though nothing was wrong. If anything, Yuurei was most known for her apathy toward everything except Tsumiko.

Only when she seen high walls of sand, did she even remotely feel relieved. "That must be Suna," she said. "Tsumiko had better hope that she's not in there, or I will wring her neck from the top of those walls."

* * *

"Ow..." Toma stood, rubbing his aching tailbone. He ended up falling several meters to the ground and landing on a pile of rocks. "Just my luck..."

Looking around, that was all he saw, was rocks. Rock walls, rock ground, everything was rock. Only every here and there was there a sprout of what he assumed to be grass, but that was very seldom. Walking down the cavern that he ended up in, he looked around and then up. He stopped for a moment to gaze at the cloudless sky.

"I never thought it'd be so... blue... It's beautiful..."

"Never seen the sky before?" a sudden voice behind him spook Toma out of his thoughts. "What kind of rock do you live under?"

"What kind of...?" he caught himself. "I don't live under a rock," he said, turning to look at the short-haired woman standing there. She was accompanied by two men.

"Are you sure about that?" she had a cocky grin on her face as she crossed her arms.

"Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure I'd know something like that."

"Huh. We'll see about that," she said with a quick nod of her head.

Taking the signal, the two men behind her sprang forward and prepared to confront Toma.

* * *

Tsumiko lay flat on her back, gazing up at the sky through the trees that surrounded her. She used a lot more chakra than she was expecting and was left rather weak. It was the first thing she had done upon arrival, just lay there to catch her breath. But even after she had done that, she continued to lay there and watch the clouds roll on by. The sound of the birds chirping, the smell of the outdoors, the feel of the grass beneath her, Tsumiko wanted to experience it all at once.

She closed her eyes and began humming a lullaby she was taught when she was younger. She never knew why, but it always gave her the shivers, a haunting feeling. But it never stopped her from singing it to herself when no one was around.

After a while, she managed to convince herself to get up and start searching for a clue as to where she was. There was no paths, no creaks, nothing for her to use as guidance. She sighed, dropping her head into her chest.

"Go me..." she cheered sarcastically to herself, raising a half-hearted fist into the air. Now that she was there, she had no idea what to do with herself, nor how to regroup with the others. "I guess the first thing to do is figure out what era I'm in..."

"Who's there?" called out a voice. It was a sad attempt at being stern, but with Tsumiko's experience, she could easily discern the fear that was tinted in it.

She popped out of the trees and into a clearing with a squad of men. Raising her hands as a sign of compliance, Tsumiko walked out in front of them. On their headbands, she noted the "Shinobi" kanji that was etched into it.

_So the war has already started..?_ she said to herself. Her heart dropped knowing that she didn't send them far enough back to prevent the war altogether.

"Who are you?" said the same man.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," she smiled softly. "My name's Tsumiko. I really need to talk to the Kage, so if you would kindly take me there, that would be wonderful."

"And who do you think you are that we'd oblige so quickly?" said another man.

"Right, I guess that's a weird request, huh?" she looked to the ground and thought a little. "Look, I'll do whatever you want me to, but I really need to talk to them."

They looked at each other and huddled, whispering among themselves. Tsumiko inwardly giggled at how non-serious the squad acted, amused by how they kept peeping up to look at her. They nodded in unison and broke the huddle.

"We wont let you talk to them directly, but we can have someone from the Communication Team transfer you through to one of them."

Tsumiko shrugged. "That'll have to do for now, I guess."

As she said this, one of the men stepped forward. On his back was strapped a large machine with an antenna sticking straight out if it.

_Technology was so primitive back then_, she thought as he placed a single hand upon her forehead. Next thing she knew, there was a voice talking in her head.

_HQ, what's your message._

_May I speak with one of the Kage, please?_

There was a moment of quiet before she heard, _This is the Hokage. What do you need?_

Tsumiko paused to remember the name of the Hokage during the war. It was the Fifth Hokage, if memory served. _Miss Tsunade, my name's Tsumiko. I'm not of your ranks of the Allied Shinobi Force, but I have an urgent matter that I need to speak with you and the other Kage about directly. This could ultimately change the course of the war in your favor. But I need your permission to come see you in person._

A moment of quiet again. _Very well. But if you turn out to be an enemy, we will not hesitate to strike you down._

_By all means, Lady Hokage, whatever you have to do, do it._ Tsumiko reassured her.

"With the Hokage's permission, we will guide you to them," the Communication ninja said after he cut the link between her and the Hokage.

Tsumiko smiled sweetly at all the men that were standing around her. "That's very kind of you, but there won't be any need for your help from here on," she said as she stood. "Please, don't let me distract you men from your duties."

With a single hand sign, Tsumiko had used a teleportation jutsu. This landed her right in the middle of the Force's Headquarters. Startled, the three Kage sitting around a table and the ninja around them immediately looked in her direction. A rather tan man stood from his seat, hands flat on the table before him.

"Who are you?" he barked.

Tsumiko looked at him and blinked a couple times, regaining her bearings from the dizziness the jutsu left. She spotted a blond woman sitting to his left and smiled at her. Walking up to the table, she bowed. "My name is Tsumiko."

"That's impossible," Tsunade proclaimed in disbelief. "I was just talking to a woman by that name not even three minutes ago."

"Oh, but it _is_ possible, dear Lady Hokage. For you see, I've come with a very important mission and it was imperative that I got here as soon as possible."

"A mission? From where?" an old man, who was rather short on top of that, sat back in his chair, eyeing Tsumiko suspiciously.

She looked at him and smiled sweetly. "From the future."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Here it is guys, the latest update. Sorry it took so long... Anyways, hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"From the future?" the tall, dark man said, suspicion dripping from his voice. "What game are you trying to pull?"

"None, sir. I'm being blunt, honestly. Four of my friends and I have come here, from the future, to change the course of history. Though, we got separated in the transfer and I currently have no idea where they are. Regardless, we-"

"Change history how? And why?" Tsunade cut in. She was eyeing Tsumiko with a look of apprehension, fingers laced in front of her face.

Tsumiko took a deep breath. "I would love to tell you the horrors that humanity lives in, but to divulge that kind of information is something I can't do. Just know that it is something to be avoided at all costs."

"If you can't tell us, then how are we to trust you?" the older man said. By then, she remember that this man was known as the "fence-sitter" Ohnoki, the Third Tsuchikage.

"I would love nothing more than to tell you, Tsuchikage-sama, sir. But to that could potentially alter the space-time continuum in a negative way," Tsumiko said, rocking on her feet with her hands clasped behind her. Ohnoki gave her a squinty glare.

"This is nonsense," said the dark man as he slammed his hands on the desk. Tsumiko assumed that this man was the short-tempered Fourth Raikage, Ay. "Give me some sort of proof and then we can talk."

Tsumiko put a finger to her lips and rocked on her feet again, thinking. "Hmm... Something that's not words or non-destructive..." she thought out loud. She glanced a Ay from under her silver bangs. "How about the Kekkei Kansei?"

"Kekkei... Kansei?" Ohnoki was eying her.

Tsumiko shook her head, looking away. "No, that won't do... Oh! I know!" she said, thumping a fist into an open palm. "One of my companions should be proof enough! I'll be back in a jiffy." And with that, Tsumiko vanished from the room in a flash of light. The three Kage gathered around the table blinked in surprise.

"Was that a transportation jutsu?" Tsunade asked.

"What a strange one..." Ohnoki turned away only to jump back.

Holding Tsumiko by the neck was a dark haired woman. She had her fist raised and but stopped when she noticed her surroundings had changed.

"What did you do?" Yuurei mumbled as she dropped Tsumiko and stumbled back, gazing about.

Tsumiko turned her by the shoulders to face the Kage, whom she formally had her back to. "Guys," she said with a wide smile. "This is Uchiha Yuurei."

All of them began eying her up and down.

Yuurei shoved Tusmiko off of her and clocked her in the face, sending her flying. "Why the _hell_ did you tell them that?"

She sat on the ground, feet kicked out in front of her, with a pout as she rubbed her sore cheek. "I couldn't think of any other way to convince them that we are who I'm trying to say we are."

Yuurei nodded, looking away. With a sudden clenching of the fist, she kicked Tsumiko across the room, sending her into the wall on the far side. "There's thousands of others ways, you _idiot_!"

"But this was the easiest one!" came a reply from the other side of the room.

She said, popping her hip to the side and pinching the bridge of her nose, "Idiot..." she sighed under her breath.

"So you're an Uchiha," Ay was watching her every movement.

"Yes, I'm an Uchiha, bane of humanity. What of it?" she turned to look at him over her shoulder with an icy glare.

He grit his teeth as a means of trying to calm himself, when a voice spoke from over his shoulder.

"She's really a good person on the inside, I promise - short temper, but good," Tsumiko said with a nervous giggle hidden in words. "You just gotta take the time to know her."

"Why would I want her help?" Ay said in a low voice. Tsumiko was now standing beside Yuurei, ready to self-defend. He stood from his seat, fists at the ready. "Why would I want help from an Uchiha who started this whole mess!?"

"Because I'm not them!" Yuurei stamped a foot, pointing an angry finger at the ground. "I'm not those damn men, ok!? If you can't get past that, then you really are the blind fool who got himself killed!"

In an instant, Ay's anger subsided and his stance softened. "What?" he sounded shocked.

"Rei-chan, I was trying to _not_ tell them..." Tsumiko whispered from beside her.

"It's something they need to know, Tsumiko. We can't just hide something like this from them."

She sighed, nodding her head. "If you think so, then I guess it's okay."

Yuurei turned back to them. "What's the last battle event that happened?"

"The Kazekage is currently prepping for battle in the desert."

"Tsunade, don't te-"

"Why not? If they are the enemy, then we may as well give up now being as they can come and go through the barriers of HQ whenever they please."

"You're a wise woman," Yuurei smirked. "Anyways. In about two weeks' time, if nothing is done, you will have completely lost the war."

Ay sat back down, his displeasure quite evident on his face. "That's it? Two weeks?"

She nodded. "The first target to fall is your ace in the hole."

"Naruto..." Tsunade whispered, now paying close attention with wide eyes.

Yuurei nodded again and looked at Ay. "Then the Eight Tails." He clenched his teeth, doing his best to keep quiet. "Then the Feudal Lords, the Kage, and finally, the nations themselves." The whole room had grown quiet, hanging on every word Yuurei spoke. "To add a little more, those who were captured in Madara's genjutsu now fight as mindless soldiers against the last of us, who were forced underground to train an become unbelievably stronger just as a sliver hope to stay alive."

"The five of us," came a soft voice to her left. "are of but eighty-seven that are still alive, uncontrolled."

"Those who don't have the skills are better off dead," said a cocky voice to her right.

"And of those who do survive, most wish they were dead."

"Gaara?" Ohnoki was looking at the last voice to speak.

Toma chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Ya know... The people I came across a little while ago thought the same thing... But no, I'm not him."

Yuurei looked around. "Where's Tsumiko?"

"Hmm? Chief?" Sen looked around too.

"She's... not here..." Ayame said after reaching out for her.

"Well find her," Yuurei barked.

"O-Okay..." she shrunk away.

"Leave her alone, Uchiha," Sen stood in front of Ayame protectively.

"What was that?"

"I said leave her alone, hmm! Only Chief can give us orders!"

"S-Sen-chan, I-"

"And who do you think you are, telling me what to do?"

"I think you're stepping out of line, Uchiha spawn," Sen buffered against Yuurei.

"I think you ought to watch your tongue, tomboy bitch," she stood nose to nose with her.

"That does it, hmm!" Sen threw her arm back, building the momentum, only to find that it was stuck in the air.

"What? I thought the big bad he-she was going to hurt me," Yuurei cocked a grin, crossing her arms. "Scared?"

"No," Sen spat.

"Then what?"

"I'm what," said a displeased voice in front of the Kage. Tsumiko stood with a dark cloud hovering over her. "Seriously, guys. I can't look away for one minute? Just one?"

"Ch-Chief! Hey.. there..." Sen managed a nervous chuckle, finally able to lower her raised fist. Yuurei turned away with a soft, "tch".

"I really did expect more from you," Tsumiko gave them a cynical smirk.

Ayame raised a hand, looking out into the space before her. "For the record," she spoke softly. "Toma-san and I did not partake in the fighting." To her side, Toma nodded quietly.

"Aya-chan! Don't sell us out like that," Sen turned to her comrade.

"Now-" Tsumiko took the ear of Sen and Yuurei and turned them to face the Kage. "As you can see, there are still tensions among us concerning the Uchiha. However, Yuurei has my full trust as a member of the Allied Shinobi Force and is my right-hand in battle. I would trust her with my life, if it came to it. Her skills rival my own." She pulled Yuurei to stand in front of her, releasing her now red ear. "Sen is my battle specialist. Skilled in taijutsu, she also knows her way around just about any weapon you toss at her. Her ability with ninjutsu is also something, and is my left-hand." She pulled Sen's ear so she stood beside Yuurei. Tsumiko turned and placed a hand on Ayame's shoulder, who was fiddling with her fingers in a nervous manner. "Ayame is the support in our team. As well as being the commander of the Medical Division, she has the best sensory skills in the Force, despite her blindness." Tsumiko waved a hand in front of her face. Ayame raised a gentle hand to stop the waving with a slight look of irritation. "Think of it like an eternal, uh..." she turned to Yuurei. "What was it called?"

"Byakugan?"

"Yeah! An eternal Byakugan, only... it's not..."

"And him?" Ay nodded toward Toma.

He chuckled to himself, touching the kanji on his forehead. "I'm virtually useless now that my brother's gone. Our justu only worked when we used them together and only then."

Tsumiko placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure we'll figure something out, Toma," she smiled brightly. "Besides, you're pretty strategic. You and Mato have saved us countless times with your plans."

"And you?" Tsunade still had her fingers laced together.

"Hm? Me?" Tsumiko pointed to herself.

"This is Chief," Sen plopped an arm around her shoulder with a proud grin. "Best thing to ever happen to the Force."

Tsumiko gave the Kage a formal salute. "I am the current Commander-in-Chief and Supreme Leader of the Allied Shinobi Force. But that title does not befit me here in this time. Think of us as an elite squad at your disposal. We are willing and ready to fulfill any order you may have for us. "

"Ch-Chief...?" Sen gawked at her.

Yuurei stepped beside Tsumiko's left side and mimicked the salute. "Though you may not trust me, I swear to destroy my ancestors for the crimes they have committed against humanity."

"You too!?"

Ayame, from where she stood, also saluted. In as loud and brave a voice she could muster, said, "And I will provide my skills to you and assist in any means you deem necessary."

"I may not have many skills on the field, but I can provide you intellect and advice where I can," Toma said, saluting.

"Wha- G-Guys, you... Agh..." Sen sighed, and dropped her head in defeat. Turning to face them, she gave a strong salute. "And I promise to kick ass in the name of the Allied Shinobi Force."

Together, they said, "We, the Allied Shinobi Force, pledge our abilities, our energy, and our loyalty to the betterment of mankind."


End file.
